Episode 1 of Slow Horses starts in an airport, as a flight is bound to depart for Marrakesh. An agent called Cartwright is in the middle of this and believes he's spotted a terrorist. Diana Taverner, the woman overseeing this operation, gives the greenlight to apprehend their suspect. Tackling him to the ground, it turns out he's the wrong guy. The real culprit is on the other side of the airport, currently waiting to go through the biometric passport control. Given how fast he gets through those gates, it's incredibly unrealistic (as anyone who has used these will tell you!) Anyway, our suspect heads into the toilet near arrivals and seemingly swaps bags. With alarms wailing, Cartwright charges after him as he heads down to Stanstead International train station. He makes it in time and confronts the man....only for him to pull the string and blow the place sky high. Slow Horses gets things off to a pretty promising start, despite the completely on-the-nose political messaging in here. Look, we all know the Conservative Party is evil incarnate but the way this show batters you over the head with that message distracts from more important elements, like building the various characters. It's still early days though so we'll have to wait and see where this one goes next. There's definitely an air of Suspicion here (AppleTV's bunged espionage thriller) right down to the kidnapping, musical score and conflicted police forces. However, this show definitely has an edge over that one, with solid acting, some good characters and a far more engaging premise. MI5 believe that Simmonds has been funding hate groups and that's why Cartwright has been so dead-set on finding him. However, Lamb soon puts him in his place, pointing out that after 5pm he has no business in the office. If he continues though, Lamb promises to make his life hell. River Cartwright heads back home and speaks to his dad, David. Their conversation mainly revolves around Hobden and his past. Here, we learn he used to be a communist in his youth until he switched sides. According to David, a list was leaked about him donating to the British Patriotic Party - something Hobden believes the MI5 had uncovered.
